Strip storage device

ABSTRACT

1 A film spool including a hub cavity formed in the hub. A film slot is provided in the hub and communicates with a channel formed in the cavity to hold the film end during take-up onto the spool. The channel is comprised of a raised rib formed in spaced relationship from a portion of the cavity sidewall. The rib cooperates with the sidewall to force the film end into an arcuate path and restrains the film end from springing back out through the film slot during take-up.

United States Patent 1191 Rissberger Feb. 6, 1973 [541 STRIP STORAGEDEVICE 3,128,959 4/1964 Pelson .242/74 2,704,641 3/l955 Schnetzer et al....242/74 [75] Invent Webster 3,288,392 11/1966 Goldberg ...242 74 I3,318,549 5/1967 Macomber 242 74 [7 3] Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company,

Rochester NY Primary Examiner-George F. Mautz Att0rneyWalter O. Hodsonand Robert F. Crocker [22] Filed: June 29, 1970 App]. N0.: 50,769

ABSTRACT I A film spool including a hub cavity formed in the hub. A filmslot is provided in the hub and communicates with a channel formed inthe cavity to hold the film end during take-up onto the spool. Thechannel is comprised of a raised rib formed in spaced relationship froma portion of the cavity sidewall. The rib cooperates with the sidewallto force the film end into an arcuate path and restrains the film endfrom springing back out through the film slot during take-up.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEUFEB 6 I975 FIG. 2 25 ARTHUR '0.mssa/mam JR,

INVENTOR.

ma/M A from/5Y3 STRIP STORAGE DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thepresent invention relates to devices for storing strips or the like.More particularly the invention relates to the storage of strips or thelike on a hub about which the strips may be wound.

In the use of film spools, for example, it is customary to wind filmupon a spool by positioning one end of the film through a slot formed inthe hub so that the film end may be at least momentarily held while thefirst few laps of film are wound.

One film spool which is threaded in this manner is described in my U.S.Pat. No. 3,330,494. This film spool is of the universal type and as suchis reversibly positionable on a spindle for use with various types ofphotographic apparatus, such as copy cameras and film readers.

In the spool described in my prior patent the film slot leads into acavity that is formed in the interior of the hub. When the film isplaced into the slot it is forced to flex and follow the generallycurved path defined by the sidewalls of the cavity. The film end isreleasably held in this cavity while the film is on the spool.

While this spool functions quite satisfactorily with the use ofcellulose acetate base film, a problem has been encountered with theretention of thin polyethylene terephthalate base film which is beingused more and more in the film manufacturing industry. Because of thespring action of the latter-mentioned film base and its thinrelationship to the width of the slot, there is a tendency for the filmto spring back out of the cavity through the slot when the spool isrotated for take-up. This backing out can occur in such a short timethat there is insufficient time for any of the film laps to be made andconsequently the film will not wind. In order to get the film to betaken-up repeated attempts must be made until a successful catch isachieved. Obviously this presents an inconvenience to the persons usingthese spools, since precious time is lost which otherwise could be moreproductively used elsewhere.

This problem of getting the film to take up is by no means new. It. isof long standing duration and in the past several suggestions have comeforth in an attempt to satisfactorily overcome the problem. For example,in the published Alien Property Custodian Application SEr. No. 405,443there is disclosed the use of a multiple membered hub, wherein themembers are movable toward each other to grip the film end therebetweenfor take-up onto the reel. To permit release of the film end from thereel, the reel includes springs which force the gripping members apart.While this reel may give satisfactory results it has the disadvantagethat it is impossible to be molded in one operation, which is thepreferred method of production where production in the thousands isanticipated. Other disadvantages are the relatively high cost ofmanufacturing the separate parts and the additional cost for assembly.

Other suggestions have been proposed but they are either not usable withan automatic threading apparatus, require the storage device to haveflanges, do not readily release the film, or are not amenable to bemolded in one piece.

Therefore it is an object of this invention to provide a deviceovercoming the above disadvantages of the prior art.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentto those skilled in the art by the description of a preferred embodimentof the invention which follows.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION l5 axially extending guide wall having agenerally concave portion and a second axially extending guide wallimmovable with respect to the first guide wall and spaced fromrespective portions of the first guide wall a distance greater than thethickness of the film so as to cooperate with the first guide wall tocause the end portion of the strip to assume a generally concaveconfiguration in the channel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 25 Reference is now made to theaccompanying drawing wherein like reference numerals and charactersdesignate like parts and wherein: 7

FIG. 1 is a side view of one face of a spool incorporating my invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view, taken on the line 2 2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken through a planepassing through the core between and parallel to the flanges of the reelshown in FIG. 1 and showing a film end threaded in the core.

FIG. 4 is a magnified view of a portion of the cross sectional viewshown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross sectional view similar to that of FIG. 3and illustrating a. modification of the spool shown in FIGS. 1-4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With particular reference toFIGS. 1-3 there is shown a plastic universal film spool 10 of thegeneral type described in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,330,494. The spool includesa hub or core 11 and a pair of spaced flanges 12, 13 secured to andconcentric with the ends of the hub. Although the preferred embodimentof the invention is described as a spool having flanges it should beappreciated that one advantage of my invention is that it may be usedwith cores not having flanges.

The outer part of the hub 11 comprises a cylindrical 55 surface 14 aboutwhich the film is to be wound. The interior of the hub includesa spindlereceiving aperture 15 which extends axially completely through thespool. The aperture 15 is slightly modified from that shown in thepatent and includes a rectangular shaped slot portion 16 with a pair ofkeyhole shaped slots l7, l8 radially extending from adjacent corners ofthe rectangular portion. As is now conventional in these types ofspools, a plurality of eccentrically positioned cavities are formed inthe interior of the reel about the spindle aperture 15 to reduce theamount. of material needed to form the spool. Each of the cavities isdefined by a generally axially extending sidewall and a radiallyextending end wall formed at one end of the hub, thereby leaving thecavity open at the other end. It should be appreciated that the axiallyextending walls are usually not formed perfectly parallel to the axissince it is good molding practice to mold them with a slight taper topermit easy stripping of the spool from the mold.

In the view shown in FIG. I two cavities 19, are visible. Two radiallyextending end walls 21, 22 are also visible and these end walls inconjunction with sidewalls not shown form cavities that are visible whenviewing the opposite side of the spool.

Attention will now be particularly directed to the portion of the spoolinvolving the threading and takeup of the film, it being understood thatthe other portions of the spool are similar to that shown in my patentand are not necessary to the full understanding of my invention.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 3, the spool is of the type having aradially extending film slot 23 formed in the hub outer surface 14. Asshown in FIG. 1 an arrow may be formed on the flange to indicate theposition of the slot 23, the arrow being formed by molding the flangewith a grainy appearance while leaving the arrow portion smooth and thusdistinctive. The slot 23 leads into cavity 20 which is the cavity thatis to hold the film end during take-up. Cavity 20 is defined by agenerally axially extending sidewall 24 and a radially extending endwall 25. Side wall 24 is comprised of a plurality of straight and curvedsegments 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30 which define in the view shown in FIG. 3an almost closed figure, with a slight break in segment 30 being madefor the film slot 23. The cavity 20 includes a generally U-shaped filmretention channel which is defined by end wall 25 and a pair of spacedguide walls. The first guide wall is comprised of sidewall segments 26,27 and 28 which in combination define a generally concave wall forguiding the film end in an arcuate path as it is moved into the cavity20. The second guide wall is formed as a rib 31 and is molded integralwith end wall 25. Rib 31 extends generally axially for a distanceofpreferably about one-eighth the height of the core 11 and includes twostraight rib segments 32, 33. Rib segment 32 is molded integral with andextends from segment of side wall 24 in a direction generally parallelto that of segment 26. Rib segment 33 is joined to rib segment 32 andextends generally parallel to segment 27. The junction between ribsegments 32 and 33 is rounded to facilitate the change in direction ofthe film end as it follows the path defined by the guide walls.

In FIG. 4 the U-shape of the channel is shown and a plateau 36 is alsoshown formed in the portion of the cavity 20 that does not include thefilm retention channel. The plateau 36 is actually a thickened part ofthe end wall 25 and is formed because it facilitates molding of thespool. It also has the advantage that should the film end turn alongsidewall segment 29, greater retention will result since the differencein elevation between the leading edge of the film end and the remainderof the film end in the channel causes the film end to be wedged in thecavity.

In the modified embodiment shown in FIG. 5, rib 31 is extended toinclude a rib segment 34 that is parallel to straight wall segment 28.The junction between rib segment 33 and rib segment 34 is also roundedto facilitate film direction change.

The threading operation of both embodiments are similar. In each, film35 is threaded through film slot 23. The film is initially guided in arelatively straight path by rib segment 32 and wall segment 26. Theleading edge of the film then strikes wall segment 27 and thereafter aportion of the film end inward of the leading edge contacts the junctionof rib segments 32 and 33. This dual contact insures that the film endwill be gradually turned into an arcuate path instead of springing backout of the cavity. A further gradual turn is made as the film endtravels along the junction of wall segments 27 and 28. It will be notedthat this junction includes a fillet to ensure that the change is agradual one. The fillet is also useful in threading the thicker acetatebase film, since this type of film may tend to jam where this junctionis angulated. With the film end positively guided and threaded in thechannel the films own spring-like property is relied on to restrain itfrom springing back out of the channel. The arced film end behaves as aspring and tends to straighten against the guide walls thereby creatinga greater frictional hold of the film end in the cavity.

It will therefore be appreciated that by controlling the film end in themanner described above a more positive take-up of highly flexible filmsis obtainable without the necessity of gripping the film end as taughtin the prior art. In addition, since the film is held but not gripped inthe channel, the film is readily releasable from the channel duringplayout of the film from the spool.

The invention has been described in detail with particular reference topreferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variationsand modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of theinvention.

What I claim is:

1. An integrally molded one-piece storage device for strips or the like,which device comprises:

a core including a generally-axially extending surface about which astrip may be wound for storage; generally-axially extendingeccentrically disposed cavity formed in the interior of the core forreceiving an end portion of the strip, said cavity being defined atleast in part by:

. a generally-axially extending side wall, and

generally-radially extending end wall means formed adjacent one end ofthe core;

a genera]ly-radially-inwardly directed slot formed in the core, saidslot having its radially inner terminus at said side wall for guidingthe end portion of the strip into said cavity;

a generally U-shaped channel formed in said cavity and communicatingwith said slot for guiding the end portion of the strip into a generallyarcuate configuration in said cavity, said channel being defined by:

. a first guide wall means which is comprised of a portion of said sidewall, said first guide wall means having a generally-concaveconfiguration and extending in a generally-axial direction for adistance approximately equal to the axial height of said surface andbeing adapted to contact one surface of the strip so as to guide thestrip in an arcuate path;

a bottom wall which is comprised of said generally-radially extendingend wall means; and

a second guide wall means adapted to contact the opposite surface of thestrip, said second guide wall means spaced from respective portions ofsaid first guide wall means so as to define the channel therebetween,and being cooperable with said first rib segments being adapted to, uponcontact with the leading edge of said strip with the second wallsegment, contact the strip at a point spaced from the leading edgethereof so as to guide said strip into an arcuate path.

guide wall means for guiding the said end portion of the strip into ashape approximating the generally-concave configuration of said firstguide wall means, said second guide wall means being connected to saidbottom wali and generally-axi- 10 ally extending therefrom a distancesubstantially less than the axial height of said surface about which thestrip may be wound.

2. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said second guide wallmeans comprises a rib having an axial extent that is substantially lessthan the axial height of said surface.

3. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said first guide wallmeans comprises:

a first generally-straight generally-radially-inwardly directed wallsegment communicating with said slot for guiding the strip generallyradially into said cavity;

a second generally-straight wall segment formed at an obtuse anglerelative to said first wall segment and in facing relationship with saidslot was to be adapted to come into contact with the leading edge ofsaid strip and to deflect same from its generally-radially-inwardlydirected path; and

a third generally-straight generally-radially-outwardly directed wallsegment for guiding the strip generally-radially-outwardly;

and wherein said second guide wall means further comprises:

a first generally-straight rib segment spaced from said firstradially-inwardly directed wall segment so that said strip may bethreaded therebetween and generally radially into said cavity; and

a second rib segment connected to said first rib segh ment and spacedfrom respective portions of said 40 substamlauy a h axial he'ght of Saldsecond wall segment so as to guide the strip face about whlch the Sm?may be woundtherebetween, the junction of said first and second 4. Theinvention according to claim 1 wherein said end wall means includes athickened land portion that is formed in a portion of the end wall meansand which land portion is thicker than said bottom wall of said channel.

5. The invention according to claim 4 wherein said thickened landportion comprises a plateau in relation to said bottom wall of saidchannel.

6. An integrally molded one-piece storage device for strips or the like,said device including a core that has a surface about which a strip maybe wound and means defining a generally U-shaped strip-retention channelformed within said core and which communicates with a slot in saidsurface for securing the strip to said device, said channel definingmeans comprising:

a. first guide wall means extending in a generallyaxial direction for adistance approximately equal to the axial heightof said surface aboutwhich the strip may be wound, said first guide wall means being adaptedto contact one surface of said strip and having a generally concaveconfiguration for guiding said strip into a generally arcuate path; b.bottom wall means comprising a generally-radially extending end wall ofsaid core; and second guide wall means spaced from respective portionsof said first guide wall means so as to define a generally U-shapedchannel therebetween and which is cooperable with said first guide wallmeans for guiding an end portion of said strip to assume a generallyconcave configuration in said channel, said second guide wall meansbeing adapted to contact the opposite surface of said strip and beingconnected to said bottom wall and generally-axially extending therefroma distance

1. An integrally molded one-piece storage device for strips or the like,which device comprises: a core including a generally-axially extendingsurface about which a strip may be wound for storage; agenerally-axially extending eccentrically disposed cavity formed in theinterior of the core for receiving an end portion of the strip, saidcavity being defined at least in part by: a. a generally-axiallyextending side wall, and b. generally-radially extending end wall meansformed adjacent one end of the core; a generally-radially-inwardlydirected slot formed in the core, said slot having its radially innerterminus at said side wall for guiding the end portion of the strip intosaid cavity; a generally U-shaped channel formed in said cavity andcommunicating with said slot for guiding the end portion of the stripinto a generally arcuate configuration in said cavity, said channelbeing defined by: a. a first guide wall means which is comprised of aportion of said side wall, said first guide wall means having agenerallyconcave configuration and extending in a generally-axialdirection for a distance approximately equal to the axial height of saidsurface and being adapted to contact one surface of the strip so as toguide the strip in an arcuate path; b. a bottom wall which is comprisedof said generally-radially extending end wall means; and c. a secondguide wall means adapted to contact the opposite surface of the strip,said second guide wall means spaced from respective portions of saidfirst guide wall means so as to define the channel therebetween, andbeing cooperable with said first guide wall means for guiding the saidend portion of the strip into a shape approximating thegenerally-concave configuration of said first guide wall means, saidsecond guide wall means being connected to said bottom wall andgenerallyaxially extending therefrom a distance substantially less thanthe axial height of said surface about which the strip may be wound. 1.An integrally molded one-piece storage device for strips or the like,which device comprises: a core including a generally-axially extendingsurface about which a strip may be wound for storage; agenerally-axially extending eccentrically disposed cavity formed in theinterior of the core for receiving an end portion of the strip, saidcavity being defined at least in part by: a. a generally-axiallyextending side wall, and b. generally-radially extending end wall meansformed adjacent one end of the core; a generally-radially-inwardlydirected slot formed in the core, said slot having its radially innerterminus at said side wall for guiding the end portion of the strip intosaid cavity; a generally U-shaped channel formed in said cavity andcommunicating with said slot for guiding the end portion of the stripinto a generally arcuate configuration in said cavity, said channelbeing defined by: a. a first guide wall means which is comprised of aportion of said side wall, said first guide wall means having agenerally-concave configuration and extending in a generally-axialdirection for a distance approximately equal to the axial height of saidsurface and being adapted to contact one surface of the strip so as toguide the strip in an arcuate path; b. a bottom wall which is comprisedof said generally-radially extending end wall means; and c. a secondguide wall means adapted to contact the opposite surface of the strip,said second guide wall means spaced from respective portions of saidfirst guide wall means so as to define the channel therebetween, andbeing cooperable with said first guide wall means for guiding the saidend portion of the strip into a shape approximating thegenerally-concave configuration of said first guide wall means, saidsecond guide wall means being connected to said bottom wall andgenerally-axially extending therefrom a distance substantially less thanthe axial height of said surface about which the strip may be wound. 2.The invention according to claim 1 wherein said second guide wall meanscomprises a rib having an axial extent that is substantially less thanthe axial height of said surface.
 3. The invention according to claim 1wherein said first guide wall means comprises: a firstgenerally-straight generally-radially-inwardly directed wall segmentcommunicating with said slot for guiding the strip generally radiallyinto said cavity; a second generally-straight wall segment formed at anobtuse angle relative to said first wall segment and in facingrelationship with said slot so as to be adapted to come into contactwith the leading edge of said strip and to deflect same from itsgenerally-radially-inwardly directed path; and a thirdgenerally-straight generally-radially-outwardly directed wall segmentfor guiding the strip generally-radially-outwardly; and wherein saidsecond guide wall means further comprises: a first generally-straightrib segment spaced from said first radially-inwardly directed wallsegment so that said strip may be threaded therebetween and generallyradially into said cavity; and a second rib segmeNt connected to saidfirst rib segment and spaced from respective portions of said secondwall segment so as to guide the strip therebetween, the junction of saidfirst and second rib segments being adapted to, upon contact with theleading edge of said strip with the second wall segment, contact thestrip at a point spaced from the leading edge thereof so as to guidesaid strip into an arcuate path.
 4. The invention according to claim 1wherein said end wall means includes a thickened land portion that isformed in a portion of the end wall means and which land portion isthicker than said bottom wall of said channel.
 5. The inventionaccording to claim 4 wherein said thickened land portion comprises aplateau in relation to said bottom wall of said channel.